Lovely pieces! I especially like the ring you have on, and the big cuff. And I certainly don’t feel it is a competition on here, I just wanted you to feel comfortable posting things and learning.
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That’s gorgeous. The blue of the stones is so deep. Looks like Lake Michigan 
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Kingman of course 
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Of course! Maybe that’s why I liked it so well
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So any turquoise that turns color is not a high grade stone? My Dragonfly made by Frederico Jiminez turned colors and he is suppose to use really good stones. So I’m confused.
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I don’t think that necessarily means it’s low-grade, but yes, the lower the grade the more porous, therefore it will be affected and change color. It would take a really high gem-grade stone to not turn color. That’s my understanding anyway. A couple of my best stones have never changed color, even with a lot of handling. And an old buckle from my dad’s has some really nice stones, but they have changed color over the decades. So I think that just means they’re not the highest grade.
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I wore a ring today that made me think about this post. I bought this pawn ring quite some time ago at Blair’s Dinnebito Trading Post in Page, AZ (now closed 
). To me it’s the perfect example of what I was talking about. It’s not a high-end piece by any stretch, the band is thin and bent, and many of the stones have changed color. But it has personality, and was clearly worn and loved.
The band still has the thread that was used to make it fit better, and it was already a bit flattened when I bought it, apparently from the previous owner wearing it.
I only paid about $45 for it (they were having a 4th of July sale, anything that had red, white, or blue in it was discounted 
), so to me it was a true bargain.
Here is an old online picture of the trading post.
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@Ziacat, your ring is absolutely charming! It has such character and is truly (to use an overused word) unique. No other 14-turquoise ring will have these same colours.
And I love seeing the photo of the trading post. It must be such a pleasure to visit these places. Pity this one has closed, though 
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I love this!!! 
Thank you for sharing!
Happy almost weekend!!!
Yahooo!!
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Thanks. I am so embarassed looking back at what I bought back then.
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Why embarrassed? You were buying what you thought you loved, and since then you’ve apparently learned a lot more. I feel like this forum is to help people grow in their knowledge of Native American jewelry, and to enjoyably discuss it while they learn, because we have members of all levels of knowledge and budgets.
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I’m pretty sure we all have some of those pieces so don’t be embarrassed. I know I have some “mistakes” as well as other things that I no longer wear because my tastes have evolved. It all a part of learning. The hard part is that as my taste has grown so has the cost! 
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My taste exceeds my budget by a significant amount 
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